Leading international, progressive systems integrator ITI Group has announced it has been selected by Fazer, the Finnish confectionery and food giant for the design and implementation of its new ‘Factory of the Future’ MES (Manufacturing Execution System). The new €400m factory in Lahti, Finland is the largest investment in food manufacturing in northern Europe in over 70 years. ITI Group has been providing consulting services to Fazer on the project for the past two years developing the initial concepts, defining business strategy, through to technical specifications. ITI Group has now been retained to develop, build and implement this multi-million Euro project following a four-way pitch process.
ITI Group will develop the MES deploying Parsec Automation’s TrakSYSTM software for the entire factory which will fully automate all areas of the factory’s operations including:
Recipe and Material Handling
Providing complete oversight of ingredients across all product lines throughout the entire facility from door-to-dock ensuring quality and consistency as well as managing the wider supplier chain through integration with the SAP invoicing system.
Performance Monitoring
Real-time monitoring of all assets to ensure all newly commissioned production equipment is operating as expected and protecting the investment of the legacy systems being integrated. Ongoing monitoring to ensure factory optimisation and maximum productivity.
Quality Management
Complete track and trace capability and product genealogy for enhanced compliance auditing. System measures every minute, every machine and all materials to prevent costly delays in production due to batch quality deviation.
Oliver Stone, Digital Solutions Director with ITI Group commented, “Working on the consultation element of the initial phase of the project right through to be awarded the contract for the MES design and implementation has been extremely rewarding for ITI Group. This deal highlights the heritage and deep domain expertise ITI Group has in the manufacturing sector and we are delighted to have been selected for this flagship European food manufacturing MES implementation. It is testament to the capability of the team that ITI Group has been entrusted to deliver on one of the largest food manufacturing investments in decades.”
Construction on the new 33,300 square metre factory began in summer 2025 and it is expected to be fully operational by 2027 and at capacity by 2028. The new facility will be highly automated and deploy comprehensive energy recycling making it emissions free.
Harri Ahlroth, Head of Business ICT at Fazer Confectionery said “ITI Group was chosen as our partner on MES implementation in the largest investment in the company’s history. The team at ITI Group was able to prove their expertise and customer focused approach in the predesign and prototyping phases. With these experiences it was natural to select ITI Group as the MES supplier.”
Fazer is the leading chocolate and confectionery manufacturer in Finland accounting for 15% of the country’s food exports. It produces a range of confectionery and chocolate products primarily for the Nordic and Baltic markets and exports to over 40 countries and is rapidly expanding its presence in global travel retail. In these markets, Fazer provides much loved brands including Karl Fazer milk chocolate, Dumle, Geisha and Fazermint. The new factory investment is in response to planned international expansion.
